Sheffield United v United: Verdict

SHEFFIELD is hardly Hollywood but they blast out the Star Wars theme to greet the teams and the stadium announcer reminded everyone that the last time the Blades beat United was in the 1996 film `When Saturday Comes!'

SHEFFIELD is hardly Hollywood but they blast out the Star Wars theme to greet the teams and the stadium announcer reminded everyone that the last time the Blades beat United was in the 1996 film `When Saturday Comes!'

Then it was Bramall Lane regular Sean Bean who disposed of the Reds on the big screen.

United, however, have a real life all-action hero in Wayne Rooney.

If Tinseltown scriptwriters had penned the lead-up to the blockbuster with Chelsea next Sunday, they couldn't have made it more dramatic.

And Sir Alex Ferguson couldn't have written it better either.

Publicly his wish was for United to have their noses in front in the title race when Jose Mourinho brought his back-to-back champions to town for the Premiership showdown.

Privately, he no doubt wanted Rooney in this kind of goal form.

Last week the Chelsea boss hailed his spearhead Didier Drogba saying: "I don't think there is anybody better in the world scoring or playing like him."

Oh yes there is.

Improbable

A goal for England in Amsterdam last midweek, two against the Blades on Saturday and he's now just one behind Drogba in the Premiership scoring stakes.

Actor Bean won it for his beloved Blades on celluloid a decade ago and it looked like another improbable storyline might rattle the Reds at Bramall Lane before Rooney's two-goal reality check.

So, to come up with one against United and manage to beat 6ft 5ins Edwin van der Sar with a slow-motion header across goal really was stretching the implausible too far.

But it happened. After 14 minutes Rio Ferdinand carelessly failed to clear his lines, Patrice Evra was caught flat-footed and out of position and Gillespie steered his effort amazingly beyond Van der Sar.

Sandwiched between a Gary Neville miss and a Rooney header brilliantly pawed away by Paddy Kenny, it looked like United may have one of those days.

When they were refused a penalty shout for a barge in the back on Louis Saha and then Nemanja Vidic attempted a near 50-yard strike you wondered if the Reds were getting panicky.

But Neville made up for his one-versus-one flop to guide in an excellent cross after 30 minutes and Rooney was a step ahead of his markers to nip in, control and steer in the equaliser.

The build-up of power and pressure increased as an inevitable winner got closer and closer. It came with Evra's deep cross and a classic volley from Rooney after 76 minutes.

United's superior title goal difference could have become even more impressive but dogged defending, the woodwork and Cristiano Ronaldo's astonishing five-yard miss that is surely destined for a future Christmas soccer howler DVD, kept the scoreline down.